Last month, we were proud to announce the all-new AMD EPYC processor, making it available to you in our new line of servers. As pleased as we’ve been with the performance of the new servers, it should go without saying that we’ve been chomping at the bit to introduce a desktop workstation built on this new EPYC platform. Without further ado, we are pleased to announce the new Pogo Linux Vorticon 575E.

High Thread Count

With an available 24 or 32 cores per CPU plus up to 512 GB of memory, the Vorticon 575E promises exceptional multi-threaded performance. Given the half-decade gap since AMD’s last major platform upgrade, we’ve been expecting nothing less than world class performance numbers. With the benchmark numbers we’ve been seeing in our initial tests, we are happy to report there’s once again some competition in the high-performance computing market. The price-to-performance ratio of the AMD EPYC platform makes it a compelling alternative to the leading enterprise computing platforms.

Last week, Chris Stevenson (our resident VR expert), was a special guest on The Lunduke Hour, hosted by Bryan Lunduke. They had an enlightening conversation about Virtual Reality platforms, what industries are driving the evolution of VR, and what kind of system you need to make the most of a VR kit. Watch it here:

Pogo Linux VR Development Workstations

Pogo engineers are continually on top of the latest developments in VR technology and can design the ideal configuration to meet the unique demands of your project. Pogo VR workstations are the perfect development platform for this next generation technology.

For many years, AMD has been dormant; its most recent generation of processors (Opteron) launching over five years ago. In the intervening years, the competition has steadily moved forward, removing the AMD Opteron processor from consideration for new server deployments. With the launch of the EPYC processor series, this has all changed. Not only does this new processor have performance comparable to the current x86 competition, but it also supports a full 128 lanes of PCIe with only a single processor. This is a feat with which the current competition simply cannot compete.

Improved CPU Utilization

When AMD set out to design its latest generation of processor, it decided to zero in on what it found when looking at many datacenters — low CPU utilization. While most data centers are filled with dual-processor servers, these systems have on average only a 40% utilization rate. Also, most applications are rarely CPU bound, with memory and I/O being the two main bottlenecks. In many of these instances, the main advantage of having dual CPU’s is what it provides in the form of total memory count and number of available PCIe lanes. The processing power just isn’t necessary.

Ideal for Software Defined Storage and GPU computing

Instead of talking in generalities, let’s look at two scenarios where a single processor AMD EPYC system could really benefit end users — Software Defined Storage (SDS) and GPU computing. In most of our storage deployments, a powerful appliance or head node makes all the difference. However, most storage systems are not CPU bound. The most important attributes are number of I/O lanes, bandwidth, and memory count. Storage servers must have maximum connectivity (lots of PCIe lanes) and high memory counts (lots of caching). Processing power is secondary. AMD EPYC processors allow a single processor storage system to maximize performance while saving upfront costs and decreasing power consumption over the life of the system.

GPU systems have similar needs as storage systems. However, instead of having lots of external I/O connections, they have the need for massive internal I/O in the form of many GPU co-processors all connected by PCIe. Since the bulk of the processing is being performed by the GPU cards, dual processors are not necessary. Again this is another situation where the TCO of the solution can be reduced by using the AMD EPYC processor.

Better price to performance ratio

In addition to single processor systems, the new AMD processor will also be a great choice for regular dual processor (DP) servers–such as the refreshed Atlas 1288R. Based on preliminary performance data, the AMD DP systems are already proving to be comparable to other x86 based systems on the market, and with better price / performance. Competition is good, and with the EPYC processor — we’re glad AMD is back!

In partnership with HGST, Pogo Linux is proud to announce the availability of the J4601S Storage System. Based on the brand new HGST 4U60G2 storage platform, the J4601S is a cost-effective yet scalable storage solution. Features include an industry-leading 5-year warranty on the chassis and drives, plus scalability from 144TB to a whopping 2.88PB. With up to 60 Ultrastar® drive modules in a single platform, a 12Gb/s SAS interface, and HDD-SSD hybrid capability, this 4U platform is ideal for high-capacity storage needs requiring HA capabilities. When paired with Pogo Linux head nodes for true high availability (HA), the HGST 4U60G2 becomes part of a complete solution for file, block, or object scale up storage.

Now more than ever, security is top of the list under IT department priorities. For some industries, anything less than the most hardened security is simply not an option. Rising to meet that challenge, Pogo Linux is pleased to unveil the Storage Sentinel Q4236 Secure NAS Appliance. Aimed at industries such as law enforcement, defense, healthcare, and financial services, these systems provide an unprecedented level of hardware security with data-at-rest encryption that prevents unauthorized access — even for individuals with physical access to the storage media.

Along with the secure hardware, the Storage Sentinel NAS features the latest version of QuantaStor SDS by OSNEXUS. QuantaStor SDS is compliant with governmental encryption standards such as the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) standard, the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) specification, and Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). It provides advanced security features such as activity audit logging, system use notifications, strict password requirements, data encryption in motion, and secure data shredding.

Additionally, the Storage Sentinel is built to perform. Even when an organization requires premium security features, they should not have to sacrifice performance. With this in mind, this system boasts a potent combination of encrypted spinning disks and ultra-fast solid state drive storage.

No Compromises

The Pogo Linux Storage Sentinel Secure NAS Appliance represents an uncompromising commitment to security without a sacrifice in performance. If your organization requires high-performance data storage built on an extremely secure platform, talk to the engineers at Pogo Linux.

To learn about how Pogo can help you tackle the technological challenges your organization is facing, please call us at 888-828-POGO, or email sales@pogolinux.com.

While Virtual Reality has rapidly established itself as a compelling option for home entertainment, that is really only the beginning. There is a vast universe of possibilities for VR in business. Find out more in our video:

Bringing VR Development to Your Desk

Pogo engineers are continually on top of the latest developments in VR technology and can design the ideal configuration to meet the unique demands of your project. Currently supporting Windows 10 and soon Linux, Pogo VR workstations are the perfect development platform for this next generation technology.

To learn about how Pogo can help you tackle the technological challenges your organization is facing, please call us at 888-828-POGO, or email sales@pogolinux.com.

Last week, our very own VP of Sales & Product Development was the special guest for an episode of The Lunduke Hour, hosted by Bryan Lunduke. They had a lively discussion about Software Defined Storage, designing storage solutions for huge organizations vs. home users, and whether using ZFS makes you an expert.

Storage Concepts with Pogo Linux – The Lunduke Hour

Pogo Linux Storage Director

The Pogo Linux Storage Director Q Series of systems, provide the perfect overall solution to achieving a successful global namespace deployment. By combining an optimal hardware configuration with the QuantaStor SDS, Pogo has a complete solution that solves the traditional issues of scale-out storage by providing both high performance and ease of management. This is all backed by Pogo’s award winning support and warranty coverage.

With ARM processors becoming so prevalent in our cell phones, it’s easy to forget they can excel in HPC too. The Acorn RISC Machine (later known as “Advanced RISC Machine” or ARM) architecture’s simplified design results in high density, exceptional power efficiency, and minimized heat. While these characteristics are ideal for low-power mobile devices, they can also be used to great advantage in the data center.

An Affordable Alternative to x86

Case in point: The Pogo Linux ARM R150-T62, pre-configured with dual 48-core 64-bit ARM processors, up to 1TB of DDR4 memory, and multiple 40GbE and 10GbE network interfaces. The high core counts and extended memory bandwidth make this system-on-chip (SoC) server the best in class for performance/$ and performance/watt. The ARM R150 is truly an affordable alternative to x86-based systems.

Workloads

Cavium ThunderX_CP™ Processors

The ThunderX_CP™ product family is the best in class 64-bit ARMv8 Data Center & Cloud Processors, offering an unprecedented level of integration and industry leading SoC performance. These processors are based on highly efficient full custom processor cores
designed by Cavium in 28nm process technology under architectural license from ARM. They are fully compliant with ARMv8 architecture as well as ARM’s Server Base System Architecture (SBSA) standard.

Affordable Processing Power to Spare

What could you accomplish with 96 cores of inexpensive processing power running in a cool and efficient rackmount server? Contact the Pogo Linux Sales Engineering Team to learn more about this exciting new platform. They can assess the needs of your organization and put together the perfect ARM-based solution for you.

To learn about how Pogo can help you tackle the technological challenges your organization is facing, please call us at 888-828-POGO, or email sales@pogolinux.com.

All compatible Pogo Linux workstations can now be configured with Intel’s brand new 7th gen Core i7 processors (aka Kaby Lake). Iterating on their outstanding Skylake architecture, Intel has made a number of optimizations. Here is a quick rundown of features for these new processors.

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